Toxic Friends

According to Shape magazine there are five types of toxic friends. In my 25 years if life I have encountered a person who resembles every single one of these. To avoid suspicion of these people, I will not give real names or if we are still friends or not.

Narcissist- Friend #1, my narcissist. He only truly cares about himself. His actions are based on whether or not he will benefit from them. He believes he his God's gift to women and can do no wrong. I don't blame him, he's never taken responsibility for anything in his life so why should he start now? To be fair, I have met several narcissist. There tend to be more than people think. However, this one specific friend of mine, is just over the top in love with himself. 

Be-littler- Friend #2, my be-littler. She is the person who will say "You would look so much prettier with this hair style". She is married with a baby and makes sure other people know how blissfully happy she is. She doesn't stop to think you could be happy with your life too because she thinks everyone wants her life.

Critic- Friend #3, my critic. She criticizes my life, husband, the fact that I don't have a child yet, my living arrangements, my clothes, my brands, I mean everything. She thinks she means well but she's more hurtful than helpful. She has a fairly prestigious job title but I have never seen her work. Due to her career she feels the need to butt into other peoples life problems.

Flake- Friend #4, my flake. Friend #4 is that person who promises you the world, but ends up flaking, on everything! Sure, I'll meet you for dinner...flake. Sure, we'll talk tomorrow...flake. Sure, I'll go to your party....flake. I mean he flakes on everything. Inviting him is a formality but we never count on him actually showing up.

Debby Downer- Friend #5, my Debbie Downer. She recently got a divorce and makes sure the whole world knows it. She always makes sure people know how sad, miserable and lonely she is, yet insist she's going out every night. When you talk to her she starts out excited but eventually needs a pity party to make it through the conversation.

As for the toxic type of friend I most resemble, it has to be the flake. I am one to stick with what I'm comfortable with. Let me also be clear a lot of our friends are out of town/state so making plans sometimes falls through. But if there's a party an hour away that I was stoked to go to Tuesday night and am now exhausted Friday night, I see nothing wrong canceling. I try to stay away from flaking on private events like lunches, girls night etc... So next time you notice these toxic characteristics creep up....tame them! You'd hate to see someone write about you on their blog!

EMM